The program is designed to unite businesses, churches, day care centers, schools and others in protecting the children of the community, according to Joyce Prusak, executive director of the Advocacy Center.

The advocacy facility, located on the east side of the square in Manchester, aids severely abused children and their non-offending families in Coffee County.

To paricipate in the new program, volunteers are asked to attend a two-hour training session on child abuse and reporting child abuse.

After completing training, participants will then be given a window decal for their facility to designate them as one of the center’s partners in the project. The window decal will have the Coffee County Children’s Advocacy Center logo on it along with crisis numbers.

Upon seeing the logo, children will know there is a person in that building that can help them. If the building is closed, the child will still have access to the crisis numbers on the decal. The Advocacy Center hopes to launch the program within the next school year to students throughout Coffee County so that the decals will be easily recognized.

This is a free program in the community and is sponsored by a grant from the Lillian Ashley Foundation through The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. All training and materials will be free to participants.

The first training session will be held at 6 p.m., Monday, May 12, in the Community Room at the Coffee County Administrative Plaza on McArthur Street in Manchester.

To RSVP or for more information call Stacy at the Children’s Advocacy Center at 931-723-8888.